We are almost there. We are getting ready to trouser fit.  I am working on the finishing touches of the instructions for the pattern, doing pretty things to the line drawings and generally getting all the final pieces together before I can release the Wide Legged Trouser pattern. Oh, and the photos for the front page of the pattern. We had to postpone our photo shoot which was supposed to be Monday, so there are plenty of little things to get ready.

But. I am now aiming for releasing the pattern on Friday November 16th. And begin the Fit-n-Sew-along right after that (on the 17th). (The beauty of downloadable patterns – instant delivery!)

So I thought I’d post about what you’d need to have on hand to be part of the fit-a-long. Today I’ll give you the lists, tomorrow I’ll post the buttons with links and also the preliminary schedule for the entire Fit’n’Sew-along.

Let’s start by gathering our supplies. Here’s a list of what you need when we start out:

The Need-To-Have list:

  • A trouser pattern. I of course recommend my MariaDenmark 301 – Winnie Wide Trousers, but you can use any trouser pattern you like.
  • Tissue Paper for tracing the pattern on to and use in tissue fitting. I love working with Swedish Tracing Paper (I have no idea why it’s called that, I have never actually seen it in Sweden, and I can only get it by ordering from the US.) but I don’t have any left, and thin tissue tracing paper, such as Burda Tracing Paper is fine too. I also sometimes use what we call Pattern Interfacing, which is basicly interfacing without glue, but with some sturdiness to it – so it doesn’t stretch. You cannot use paper that is too stiff, it has to be able to drape over your body.
  • Tape. The one and only Scotch Magic Tape, that is soft and almost invisible (once you tape it to the paper) and you can draw with a  pencil on it. Get the one that is about 1 cm wide. It’s available in every office supply store, I’d think.
  • Paper Scissors. (I’m looking at you, Lizzy:-)) You don’t want to ruin your good fabric shears – so find a good sized scissor that you can use for paper (and you will not have to steal borrow the small children scissor, which will not cut accurately anyway.
  • Pencils. Just ordinary ones. And you might want a sharpener on hand as well.
  • Markers. I just use the kind you get for kids. I bought a package with 12 different colours in the supermarket years ago – and all-though some have gone missing (I’m totally blaming the cats!) I still have 8 nice water based markers in different colours. Make sure you have at least 4 different colours.
  • Pins. I prefer the kind with a glass head for fitting.
  • A piece of elastic to tie around your trouser waistline. I use one that is 1 cm wide. I hear 1/4″ is popular as well.
  • Ironing board and an iron.
  • Measuring tape and a ruler.
  • Full length mirror + hand held mirror (or if you are lucky and you own a three-way-mirror, you won’t need the hand held one)

The Nice-To-Have list:

  • A Pattern Cutting Board (like this – US or UK – what a difference in price!) or just use a big cardboard box you can cut open to lay it flat and use instead). It really makes taping accurately so much easier.
  • A flexible ruler OR a roll of tin-foil.
  • The book Pants for Real People. Borrow it from the library if you can. It is also available through all the e-book stores I’ve checked, including Kobo, Sony, Itunes Ibooks and Kindle. If you don’t want to get it, it’s okay, then just read this pdf (especially chapter 1!) , to get an idea of how we are going to approach this (more or less. I’ve added some stuff and also removed other stuff).
trouser fit fitting tools

Some stuff you’ll need for trouser fitting

 

You might also want to think about finding:

  • Fabric for your wearable muslin. Meaning: You don’t want to use the € 50 per meter fabric on your first version, but you should totally get some fabric that you will want to wear. For the wide legged trousers, you want to use something medium weight (bottom weight) with drape. To get an idea of what I mean, have a look at my Pinterest Trouser board – I’m especially inspired by the very wide legged trousers! Depending on your size and the width of the fabric you need about 2.5 meters for the MariaDenmark Wide Legged Trousers. (If your fabric is very wide and you are size 34 – 38 you can get away with only 1.7 meters – if you get a little creative w the pattern layout..).
  • Also you need thread to match and a 15 cm zipper (I prefer plastic – it’s easier to shorten and sew over when doing the fly and waistband.)

Tomorrow: Flickr Group details, schedule and buttons!